Northeast’s man of the House
is pleased with his record

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Almost nine months into the job, Pennsylvania House Speaker Dennis O’Brien gives himself a passing grade.
"I’m very happy with what I’ve done and how I’ve done it," he said.
O’Brien (R-169th dist.) succeeded Rep. John Perzel (R-172nd dist.) as speaker on Jan. 2. The Republican heads a chamber that has a 102-101 Democratic majority.
Democrats failed to elect a speaker because some rank-and-file House members don’t like their leader, Greene County Rep. Bill DeWeese.
With Perzel poised to remain speaker, Democrats struck a deal to elect O’Brien speaker if he would allow them to chair all of the committees.
The new speaker’s biggest challenge was helping to craft a budget with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled Senate.
In the end, he was happy to pass a budget that did not include any tax hikes. He believes it’s the best budget in his nearly 30 years in the legislature.
"The budget reflected priorities that were really important: education, health care, roads and bridges, mass transit, etc.," said the 55-year-old speaker.
The budget included more money for autism research and services. In the broader picture, O’Brien — who spoke at a recent Cure Autism Now rally — wants to create a number of Autism Centers of Excellence at hospitals across the state.
In addition, he will work to bring all of the disability communities together to increase resources.
"That’s my passion," he said.
During the year, O’Brien has had to facilitate the differences between the Democratic and Republican caucuses.
His method is to mix style with substance, to build up an issue on its merits and then find the votes to get it to pass. He doesn’t care who gets the credit.
"It’s about building consensus," he said.
The speaker thinks there is a new spirit of bipartisanship in Harrisburg.
"That’s what I’m proud of," he said, "and it’s only going to get better."
It’s unclear how long O’Brien will remain as speaker beyond 2008. DeWeese served as speaker for two years until Republicans took over in 1995 and wants to return to the post. Perzel is trying to gain a Republican majority in next year’s elections to elevate him back to the top job. And Rep. Sam Smith, the Republican leader, would also be in the running if the GOP wins control.
Over the years, O’Brien has not had any trouble winning re-election. In fact, Democrats haven’t bothered fielding a candidate against him since 1998.
That could change next year. Perzel and O’Brien haven’t been close in years, and Reps. John Taylor (R-177th dist.) and George Kenney (R-170th dist.) remain enraged that O’Brien sided with Democrats to become speaker. Still, it’s doubtful a prominent Republican would challenge O’Brien in the primary.
Far Northeast Democrats, energized by a couple of new, young ward leaders, will probably run a candidate for the first time in a decade.
O’Brien does not seem worried about holding his House seat, though the speaker’s job is more uncertain.
"Competition is a good thing," he said.
While the role of speaker requires O’Brien to spend more time in Harrisburg and across the state, he is staying busy in his district.
Last week, he held his annual Senior Expo at Penn Crisp Gym, a facility he helped fund.
Next month, he’ll host the fourth annual Northeast Philly 5 Mile Run/2 Mile Fun Run & Walk to benefit eight local sports clubs in his district.
Other local issues on his agenda include attending senior citizen meetings, preserving athletic fields at the former Thomas Shallcross School site and funding a gym and clubhouse for two local youth sports clubs.
In Harrisburg, the House went back in session on Monday after a long summer recess and will work through the second week in December.
Some of the top issues are debates on a smoking ban and making state records more open to the public, along with passing an energy policy and enacting the Jonas Salk Legacy Fund for medical research.
Besides his focus on disabled people, O’Brien is also defined as a leader on criminal justice issues. He was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee before becoming speaker.
Some lawmakers, especially Philadelphia Democrats, want to pass a law that would allow city residents to buy only one gun per month. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, O’Brien, who is not a lawyer, said he did not act on the legislation on its merits and because it had little support.
"One gun a month is not going to solve the violence in Philly," he said.
Perzel has introduced a bill, backed by Kenney and Taylor, that would lead to the hiring of 10,000 new police officers across Pennsylvania. There are indications that Rep. Tom Caltagirone, a Democrat and Judiciary Committee chairman friendly to Perzel, will hold debate on the measure.
O’Brien doesn’t sound overly enthusiastic about the legislation, but he does not oppose it.
"I’m not going to stand in the way," he said.
O’Brien is not a fan of Mayor John Street’s policy of directing massive police resources to a small number of areas where crime and drugs are out of control. He thinks lawbreakers simply moved their illegal operations elsewhere, including the Northeast.
Instead of merely passing measures banning guns, increasing mandatory minimum prison sentences or hiring more police officers, he wants a systematic approach to crime and related issues.
Right now, he’s using the relationships he’s forged in the last three decades to address crime. He’ll team with Gov. Ed Rendell, District Attorney Lynne Abraham, U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan and the next mayor and CEO of the School District of Philadelphia, along with the courts and other law enforcement organizations.
For all state prisoners, he wants a greater emphasis placed on anger management and GED classes to reduce recidivism rates.
To streamline prisoner transport by sheriff’s departments, he favors videotaped testimony.
The speaker believes more use of pre-trial detention is an effective way of curbing crime.
To crack down on felons with guns, he is fine with the so-called "stop and frisk" policy. Democratic mayoral nominee Michael Nutter supports the policy; Republican nominee Al Taubenberger opposes it.
O’Brien thinks the crime rate can be lessened with input from a large number of people.
"We have everybody who’s anybody in this conversation," he said. "It’s not about partisanship."
The speaker is a big fan of the work of CORA Services, the Fox Chase non-profit group that works with children and families on a variety of school and community issues. Also, he likes the approach of Self-Help Inc., the Somerton agency with a good track record of treating drug addicts and alcoholics.
In the education field, O’Brien wants to empower the experts to diagnose learning disabilities at an earlier age so children don’t fall far behind their classmates.
The speaker wants to get things done while he holds such a powerful office.
"We have a unique opportunity," he said. "We’re poised to make a difference." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com